NS trains began running again on Tuesday morning after a major IT disruption was resolved, allowing the railway operator to restart services across the Netherlands. However, trains are operating under a winter timetable, meaning fewer services than normal and a higher chance of delays as snow and freezing temperatures continue to affect the rail network.
What happened
Early Tuesday, NS was unable to run trains nationwide due to a combination of problems: a large number of switch failures and an IT issue in the planning system. As a result, NS trains did not run at all for a period in the morning.
NS told NOS that the IT disruption was fixed and that trains would restart from 10:00, but not on the regular schedule. Instead, NS switched to its winter timetable, which had already been announced because of the expected winter weather.
Why trains are running less often
The winter timetable is used to make train operations more stable during difficult weather. It usually means fewer trains per hour on many routes, and more crowded trains at busy times.
NS says it cannot quickly return to the normal timetable once the winter schedule is activated, even if weather improves for a few hours. That is because trains and staff are already repositioned and the travel information systems are set up around the reduced timetable.
Winter weather and frozen switches
ProRail, which manages the rail infrastructure, said snow and ice can cause switches to freeze or become blocked, leading to disruptions for both passenger and freight trains. ProRail reported many switch problems again on Tuesday morning, especially in the region around Amsterdam and Lelystad, while NS worked to resolve the IT issue.
NS and ProRail have extra teams working on faults, but both organisations warned travellers to expect delays and cancellations as long as winter conditions continue.
Photo Credits: Rob Dammers
Advice for travellers
NS is urging passengers to:
Check the NS journey planner shortly before departure
Turn on travel notifications in the NS app
Allow extra time for transfers and delays
ProRail also advised travellers to plan carefully, as the KNMI is expecting more winter weather in the coming days, which could keep pressure on the network.
What this means in practice
Even though the IT failure has been solved and trains are running again, the morning disruption can have knock-on effects for the rest of the day. When trains start late, equipment and crews may not be where they need to be, and small delays can quickly spread across the network.
For many commuters, the key point is that service is back, but not “back to normal.” With the winter timetable in force and switch problems still possible, travellers should expect a less predictable day on the rails.
